Reawakening

CD 1

 Welcome to this heartfelt
compilation of mineral-rich meditations
which set out to capture the yearning of our heart
for God,
and of His towards us.
As we tune our hearts to the Eternal Rock
from which we were hewn
lets embark on the greatest love story of them all,
exploring far ranging themes,
that take us far beyond the purely personal
to the prophetically panoramic,
allowing their poetic reality
to sharpen our capacity for contemplation,
as the fragrance of Heaven draws near.

Reawaken us, Lord Jesus, to the call
of how Heavenly things will truly be. Selah
Where the limitations of our earthly roles and responsibilities
have placed too tight a constriction on our perspective,
and led to so many routine repetitions,
we choose now to eagerly consider
the heavenly rewards you spoke so much about
and to anticipate the Epiphany of our Lord.

We discard from our hearts
all that tends to the ‘What’s the point?’
– and even the assumption
that all will be so well catered for in Heaven
that there will be nothing for us to do.

Expand in our mind the Narnian cry of “Further up and further in;” 
for even in Heaven You have so much more in store for us.

For nothing of value  that You direct us to on Earth  will ever be lost,  in a Kingdom  where seeds acquire  their fullest expression  and all we long for  finds its richest outworking.

“I will not drink the fruit of the vine again until I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).

Food and drink must therefore have their place
in that utterly grace-filled sphere
that You have prepared for the redeemed human race
where God-belovèd animals will lie down
at peace with each other and at ease with us.
leaving us free to enjoy whatever rewards and commissions
the Lord may choose to apportion
as He ushers in the new heaven and the new earth.

When souls saved by Christ fall asleep they emerge from the tent of their bodies and enter the realm of Paradise: a place of parkland rest and refreshment, of blissful reunions with those in Christ whom we have loved, and with those who persevered beyond their trials to the infinitely better resurrection beyond. (Heb. 11:35,38)

Let’s not end the story at what may prove to be but the end of the beginning: the call of God will appoint the meek to return with Christ to reign and rule on Earth. This is our ultimate calling, and how we respond in life will determine our fitness for service there, where Beauty personified renews the earth in glory, and so fulfils the prophecies of old. (Hab. 2:14)

4	The First Resurrection	mp3

By Your Spirit’s grace enable us to play our part
in this first and greatest resurrection.

By Your Spirit’s power be BOTH deposit and bridge
between these two worlds;
 

Reawaken our heart to these unseen heavenly realms, and draw us into Your courts to reflect on what it means to live and move in Your power and authority; for anything that we lose now for the sake of the King will be amply reaccredited then.

5 In the Courts of the Lord mp3 Instrumental version
	'Fire from the North', Music by Francis Cummings

In the Courts of Heaven I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together. (Rev. 14:2)
Sally Mowbray

God, You preside in the courts of highest Heaven,
and soon the kingdoms of this world
will become the place where You reside and reign forever;” (Rev. 11:15)

 

Your angels worshipping now before Your throne, now waging war as mighty warriors,   sounding the seven last trumpets and swinging sickles right across the planet   to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, (Rev. 14:18-19) then pouring out the bowls that represent the seven last plagues, before consigning Your foe to the bottomless pit.

You made our world out of nothing, Lord,
but this time round You intend to send such an intense fire
that the elements themselves will be melted bare.

For just as wild fire
consumes dead wood in the forest,
and redwoods release the seeds
that spawn the highest trees, (2 Pet. 3:10-13)
so You will purge
both Heaven and Earth
to make Your home
on newly refashioned Earth.
 

Reawaken our hearts to advance through life in the knowledge that we may well be destination-bound to reign on fire-cleansed Earth, the true home of righteousness, to which we belong by faith and love.

Not in vain does Creation long for the mighty verve of Your redemptive touch: Earth is not bound for destruction, like some disposable item, but is rather a jewel that will sparkle in the freedom and glory that lie beyond the flames.

	Supreme over Creation You hold all things together by Your power, Lord Jesus, (Col 1:15-20) as You labour to restore creation to its Maker.
“Inspire us to work for the renewal of Your world, and for justice within that creation” for we how can we fully love the Lover if we do not also ‘love what the Lover has made,’ and hate what He hates? You are just, and everything about the world to come will reflect this fact. All that was truncated, maimed and foreshortened in this life will reappear in its fullest finest form: unborn foetuses grown tall, the old grown young, martyrs highly honoured, and all that is broken and polluted renewed, as Creation itself is set free from the curse of decay. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.(Rom 8:21)
6 Transformation
Since death itself has been defeated we will rise again on the renewed Earth in a body that will not wear out or die.   Transform us now, Lord Jesus, to the ways of Eternity, so that one day we may govern the Earth on Your behalf. That which is not born of Your Spirit will have no place there, any more than vultures swim beneath the waves or sharks nest in lion’s dens. Keep blessing in and the enemy out.   Cover us with the outermost fringes of Your glory as You direct our days.             In the twinkling of an eye You will swallow up death in victory     and clothe our decaying bodies with imperishable immortality. By the power that enables You to bring everything under Your control, You will transform our lowly bodies so that they are like Your glorious body. Just as You restored Your people to their land so Your great desire is to restore them to You, and Earth itself to its highest calling. You are steering the whole of human history to the moment when you reunite it under the rulership of Messiah, Christ, drawing all the holy ones to dwell together in this perfectly reshaped world.     Through our union in Jesus we will freely work and converse with those from traditions we might once have demeaned or deemed to be wrong, our hearts and relationships reflecting all that You intended them to be.   Here will be found no trace of the unredeemed to haunt our days, and no memory of failed objectives to taint or taunt, for all that is sordid, suspicious or satanic will have been left behind, along with all our rage and spite.   In this glorious continuity, in the age to come the specific concerns that Living Trust placed uppermost in our hearts on Earth will but sharpen their thrust, just as a message once conveyed by semaphore does not cease to convey the truth it held before when sent by other means.   Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. and view a land that stretches far. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue be clear and fluent. No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. But the noble will make noble plans, and by noble deeds they will stand.